Boot Fitters

AllyG wrote:Bandit,
You mean, if you buy boots, they are supposed to feel too tight for the first 5 weeks of ski-ing until they settle? In that case, if I only ski for one week per year, they'd hurt for five years :shock:

I think it's probably just as well I only hire boots each time, it seems to be a very complex issue, and totally beyond me.

Ally

I was always told when I first started skiing that when you start to buy hardware boots were the most important piece of kit to buy, and I think that advice was pretty accurate 8)

AllyG wrote:Bandit,
You mean, if you buy boots, they are supposed to feel too tight for the first 5 weeks of ski-ing until they settle? In that case, if I only ski for one week per year, they'd hurt for five years :shock:

I think it's probably just as well I only hire boots each time, it seems to be a very complex issue, and totally beyond me.

Ally

Ski boots need to feel like a 2nd skin. A fitter will mould the boots to your feet, by heating the shell and(or) liners. They may also take a grinder to bits of the shell to make space for bunions and other bumps. When you put on a boot your feet should recognise all the pads and dips and feel as if it belongs. If you feel connected to the boots, then you can be in control of the skis.
It is a complex issue (unless you are Wickers), which is why bootfitting pro's like cem run Boot Fitting Clinic's at the Ski Shows (cem is at the NEC currently) This forum has had a few boot buying disasters posts, and SH is littered with "my boots hurt" posts.

If you don't want to buy boots, then you don't have to. If you want to improve your skiing, at some point you are likely to change your mind about boot ownership.

bandit wrote:

AllyG wrote:Bandit,
You mean, if you buy boots, they are supposed to feel too tight for the first 5 weeks of ski-ing until they settle? In that case, if I only ski for one week per year, they'd hurt for five years :shock:

I think it's probably just as well I only hire boots each time, it seems to be a very complex issue, and totally beyond me.

Ally

Ski boots need to feel like a 2nd skin. A fitter will mould the boots to your feet, by heating the shell and(or) liners. They may also take a grinder to bits of the shell to make space for bunions and other bumps. When you put on a boot your feet should recognise all the pads and dips and feel as if it belongs. If you feel connected to the boots, then you can be in control of the skis.
It is a complex issue (unless you are Wickers), which is why bootfitting pro's like cem run Boot Fitting Clinic's at the Ski Shows (cem is at the NEC currently) This forum has had a few boot buying disasters posts, and SH is littered with "my boots hurt" posts.

If you don't want to buy boots, then you don't have to. If you want to improve your skiing, at some point you are likely to change your mind about boot ownership.

I think it is important to say that it is a complex issue for some people, my wife and Brother-in-law play around with there boots all day, I don't, like I said it works for me, I have no problem in buying any sort of foot ware for my feet, no bunions no odd bones sticking out of my feet, like I have said before I guess I'm just lucky or is it some thing else like blaming equipment for poor technique I think
that is true of my Brother-in-law.
If things are not going well on the slopes I go back to basics and look balance and how I am weighting the ski as my boot set up will be the same every day. 8)

Wickers, folks who use a boot fitter, care about the health of their feet, and how their skis perform. Poorly fitting boots get fiddled with all day, well fitted boots get done up and left alone to perform.

I think Ally seriously needs to reconsider this issue with ownership of boots. My skiing developed once I owned my own, but when they finally showed up asw being too big, I replaced them with new and much more expensive ones and the difference was stunning. Like Wickers, I have "ordinary" feet with no odd lumps or bumps, and whilst the new boots needed a day or 2 of fiddling to get them just right, I then found I was skiing all day without adsjusting the clips and they felt so soft and comfy. It may take a fair bit of trying and testing, but once you own your own, you can then notice the difference different skis make and really start to develop.

bandit wrote:Wickers, folks who use a boot fitter, care about the health of their feet, and how their skis perform. Poorly fitting boots get fiddled with all day, well fitted boots get done up and left alone to perform.

Thats strange I thought I was alone on that one as I see many many people playing with their clips,I have no problem with people using a boot fitter, as you have said above mine must be a perfect fit.

Mine get left alone all day too.
I like to think it's down to good fitting rather than good fortune

caron-a wrote:Mine get left alone all day too.
I like to think it's down to good fitting rather than good fortune

Agreed 8)